Couple accused of keeping six-year-old autistic son naked in a makeshift CAGE on soiled sheets 'and feeding him hot dogs through the bars'

A Missouri couple have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly keeping their severely autistic six-year-old son in a makeshift cage soiled with urine and feces.

The charges come more than two years after an anonymous tip to the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline sent authorities to the O’Fallon home of Victoria Smith, 42, and her 43-year-old husband, Terry Smith. .

Their son and his five siblings were removed from their parents care, but later returned, according to court documents.

Inhumane: Police say a Missouri couple kept their autistic six-year-old child in this converted metal crib covered with plywood and held together with zip ties and bungee cords

Charged: Terry Smith, left, and his wife, Victoria, right, could face seven years in prison if convicted of first-degree child endangerment

The Smiths, who have since moved to Elsberry, both were released on personal recognizance.

Lohmar said authorities received the tip in December 2010, when the boy was six years old.

When police, paramedics and a case worker went to the home in the 1300 block of Half Moon Drive on December 15, the child’s grandmother showed them to the basement.

According to police, when officials descended the stairs, the smell of urine became almost unbearable. Inside, they found the child sitting in a 3-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide and 6-foot-long modified crib covered with a plywood top and held together with bungee cords, tension straps and zip ties, he said.

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The boy’s parents were shopping at the time, and his grandmother was watching him and his siblings ranging in age from 11 months to eight years.

The child was naked, sitting in his own urine and feces, but had several toys with him and appeared content, Lohmar toldSt Louis Post-Dispatch. A police stated that conditions in the rest of the house were also filthy.

Questionable parenting: The Smiths had installed doorknobs backwards in their children's rooms so they could be locked from the outside

Appalling conditions: The six-year-old was being kept in the basement permeated with unbearable smell of urine

According to court documents, the siblings told police they would rarely be allowed to play their brother, who was often kept in the cage and fed hot dogs and chicken nuggets through the bars.

‘We certainly understand that any parent is going to have stressful times, especially parents with severely developmentally disabled children,’ Lohmar said. ‘But our view is that this was a completely inappropriate way to handle this particular situation.’

When the Smiths came home, they told investigators that they fashioned the cage for the boy’s protection — it was the only way to keep him from hurting himself when left alone, Lohmar said.

The parents later told officials they had purchased a special bed for their six-year-old that was being shipped in from Germany.

According to the Smiths, they did their best to keep the cage clean and kept him naked so that he wouldn’t accidentally hang himself with clothing.

‘That is just terrible and so hard to understand,’ neighbor Theresa Brightwell toldFox8. ‘Everything seemed normal, but you never know what is going on behind closed doors.’

The family had doorknobs installed backwards in all the kids’ rooms so they could be locked from the outside.

The children’s grandmother told police that she had been recovering from a stroke and had a difficult time caring for her grandkids.

Justification: Terry Smith told police the situation with his son was not ideal, but his goal was to keep the family together for as long as possible before sending the boy to a group home

Whenever they became rowdy, the woman would lock the siblings in their rooms and wait for them to calm down.

Then-prospector Jack Banas declined to file charges against the parents in March 2011, but Lohmar said additional evidence that had been uncovered since led to charges being filed Friday.

According to a police report, a caseworker from the Department of Mental Health was aware of the cage for about six months before the December 2010 visit and had spoken to her supervisor about it.

The makeshift holding pen was supposed to be used only when the boy was sleeping. The caseworker said she had made repeated attempts to get the family to place the severely autistic child in a group home.

Terry Smith told officials that he knew the situation with his son was not ideal, but his goal was to keep the family together for as long as possible.

The parents were charged Friday with one count each of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child - a felony. Bail was set at $2,500 for each.